Mitred Archpriest Dimitry and Matushka Irena Sever

Mitred Archpriest Dimitry F Sever (1933-2019)

and

Matushka Irena Sever (born Bandirovskoy) (1934-2005)

Dimitry may be spelt Dmitry, Dmitriy, Demetrios, Demetrius.

Early life of Dimitry

Dimitry Feodorovich Sever was born on 5 July, 1933, in the village of Kogagёl, Turkey. His parents were Russian Orthodox Christians, and he was raised in a parish of the Russian Orthodox Church in Turkey.

Dimitry received his primary and secondary education in Turkey.

Marriage, 1949

In 1949, he married Irena Gavrilovna Bandirovskoy, who was a daughter of Russian Orthodox Christians.

After having completed the required 8 years of standard education, from 1952 to 1954, he served in the Turkish army in the city of Izmir (formerly Smyrna).

Emigration to Germany, higher education, 1957

In June, 1957, Dimitry Feodorovich and Irena Gavrilovna emigrated to Mainz-Weisenau, Germany. There, he studied engineering. This education enabled him afterwards to support his family.

Emigration to Canada, 1965

In June, 1965, Dimitry Sever and his family (his wife and her parents) emigrated to Canada.

Theological studies

Dimitry began and completed a correspondence course of theological studies with the Holy Trinity Monastery and Seminary in Jordanville, New York.

Diaconal ordination, 1966

On 9 October, 1966, Dimitry Sever was ordained to the Holy Diaconate by Archbishop Vitaly (Ustinov) of Montréal and Canada, of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia) (ROCOR).

Presbyteral ordination, 1970

On 1 February, 1970, the Deacon Dimitry Sever was ordained to the Holy Priesthood by Archbishop Vitaly (Ustinov).

Pastoral service

The Priest Dimitry Sever was immediately assigned to serve in Ottawa, Ontario, where he replaced the Priest Michael Milanov (who had been sent to London, Ontario). There, he began to develop the newly-established community of the Protection of the Theotokos. From this time until her repose, Matushka Irena was actively involved in caring for the parish family.

During the early years of his pastoral service in Ottawa, Father Dimitry welcomed and encouraged a student who had arrived in Ottawa from Montréal, Québec, one Richard Rochon, who would later become a priest and bishop in Canada.

At about this time, Father Dimitry arranged for the acquiring of a section of the Pinecrest Cemetery for the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia.

From 1970 to 1985, Father Dimitry was assigned also to serve as the dean of the ROCOR parishes in Canada.

In 1985, Father Dimitry began the preparation for the construction of the new Temple complex and Russian spiritual centre in Ottawa, the Memorial Church of the Protection of the Holy Virgin. The complex included the new Saint Vladimir Russian Residence. It was at this time that the Soviet Union was beginning to break up. Many people fled from there. Immigration from the former Soviet Union began to develop. Father Dimitry began the work for which he became very well-known, helping Russian-speaking refugees and immigrants to establish themselves in Canada.

Move to the Russian Orthodox Church, 1999

On 30 September, 1999, Father Dimitry Sever was received into the jurisdiction and under the omophor of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus’. Most of the parishioners of the parish of the Protection in Ottawa accompanied him. This new entity became a part of the Administration of the Moscow Patriarchate Parishes in Canada.

After 1999, Father Dimitry and the parishioners leased space for worship elsewhere, because they could no longer remain in the Temple that they had constructed. Because of the move to the Moscow Patriarchate, legal disputes about the ownership of the property had arisen, and Father Dimitry began to face other challenges to his reputation. He passed through several years of such difficulties, and the legal disputes lasted for many years.

Nevertheless, at the site of the community's exile, Father Dimitry continued to fulfil his pastoral responsibility to keep the rational sheep united in the parish flock, and to develop this flock as well as he could. The community continued with the same name of dedication as before : "Protection of the Holy Virgin".

In 2000, the Archpriest Dimitry Sever was awarded the right to wear the mitre (an award to priests given primarily by the Russian Orthodox Church).

In March, 2005, an associate chief justice of the Superior Court of Justice was assigned to serve as the legal mediator in the dispute. Ultimately, the property was yielded to the administration belonging to the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia, and all the other outstanding legal and financial disputes were brought to a resolution.

Bereavement, 2005

On Saturday, 26 November, 2005, Matushka Irena Sever fell asleep in the Lord at home. She had suffered from cancer for a long time, and she had reached the age of 71.

On Monday, 28 November, 2005, at 6:30 p.m. the Memorial Vespers and Vigil were served at the Temple of the Protection of the Theotokos, 412, Booth Street, Ottawa.

On Tuesday, 29 November, 2005, at 9:00 a.m., the Memorial Divine Liturgy was served, and then at 10:30 a.m. the Funeral Service for the Burial of a Lay-person was served.

After the funeral services, her body was interred at the Holy Protection Section of the Pinecrest Cemetery in Ottawa. The funeral arrangements were entrusted to McEvoy-Shields Funeral Home.

In 2008, the Holy Synod of Bishops of the Moscow Patriarchate awarded the Archpriest Dimitry Sever with the right to serve the Divine Liturgy with open Royal Doors up to the Cherubic Hymn. In the same year, he was awarded the Order of Saint Sergius of Radonezh, Third Degree, in connection with his 75th year of life.

Sometime after this, Father Dimitry began to try to retire ; however, for various reasons, several candidates who were presented did not fit the requirements.

On 28 October, 2011, the legal disputes were finally resolved between Father Dimitry and the administration of the Memorial Church of the Protection. Money that was judged to belong to him was transferred to him, and he was officially released from any obligations to this community.

In 2013, Father Dimitry participated in a Hierarchical Divine Liturgy at Saints Peter and Paul Sobor in Montréal, Québec, along with Archbishop Irénée (Rochon), Archbishop Justinian (Ovchinnikov) of Naro-Fominsk, and Bishop Mstislav (Diachina) of Tikhvin and others, during a visit of Bishop Mstislav to North America. Bishop Mstislav (Diachina) noted his family relationship with Father John Diachina of Toronto, Ontario.

In 2015, Father Dimitry began to face more health challenges (he had suffered from a series of illnesses for several years). He had managed earlier, with the blessing of the bishops, to acquire assistance from a priest of the Archdiocese of Canada (OCA) in Ottawa, the Priest Nikolay Melnik, who looked after the parish during his illness until the summer of 2017. By this time, Father Dimitry had had surgeries and other procedures, and he felt strong enough to return to full-time service on his own.

Nevertheless, during 2018, Father Dimitry's health became slowly weaker. He was able to participate in the services in the Temple, but he did not have the strength to serve them himself. Another priest was engaged to serve, and Father Dimitry did those things that he was able to do, such as hearing confessions. This priest, the Archpriest Stelian Liabotis, was also of the Annunciation to the Theotokos-Saint Nicholas Cathedral.

Repose, 2019

On 1 April, 2019, the Mitred Archpriest Dimitry Sever fell asleep in the Lord in Ottawa.

On Wednesday, 3 April, at 6:30 p.m., at the Temple of the Protection of the Theotokos at 412, Booth Street, Ottawa, a Panikhida (memorial service) was served for Father Dimitry.

On Thursday, 4 April, 2019, at 10:00 a.m., in the Temple of the Protection of the Theotokos on Booth Street, the Services for the Burial of a Presbyter were presided over by Archbishop Irénée (Rochon) of Ottawa and Canada (with the blessing of Bishop Matthew (Andreev)). He was assisted by priests and deacons from the region.

After the funeral services, the body of the Mitred Archpriest Dimitry Sever was interred beside that of his wife in the Russian Orthodox Holy Protection Section of the Pinecrest Cemetery.

Father Dimitry was survived by his daughter Tatiana (Vladimir) and by his son Michael.

Grave marker for Father Dimitry and Matushka Irena Sever

Reflections

The Mitred Archpriest Dimitry Sever had a gift for organisation and he was able to make things come into being. This was associated with his pastoral ability as well.

In the first establishment, Father Dimitry was able to gather together the people who wished to belong to the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia. His development of the community enabled the construction of the complex of the Holy Protection Memorial Temple, and the Saint Vladimir Russian Retirement Residence on Stonehurst Avenue.

Father Dimitry was very focussed on achieving these goals, and some of his methods were perturbing to some people. For some, he was nicknamed a "businessman". Nevertheless, the parishioners were generally loyal to their pastor, and they worked hard to establish this parish as a visible presence of the Orthodox Christian Church in a very visible place in west-central Ottawa. Regardless of the various controversies that followed him, the Memorial Temple of the Protection of the Theotokos is an important legacy of Father Dimitry and his parishioners.

Indirectly, the differences of opinion that had at one time arisen in the parish produced another visible testimonial to the Orthodox Christian Faith in the form of the Temple of Saint Xenia of Saint Petersburg. This Temple, belonging to a dissident and now schismatic group, is visible near Highway 417 at 2, Colchester Square in Kanata, to the west of Ottawa.

After the repose of Father Dimitry Sever, the parish continued to be served weekly by Father Stelian Liabotis for several months. However, the parish had been worshipping in rented quarters, and their rental agreement came to an end. At that time, although the Moscow Patriarchate sent another priest to investigate the situation, the parishioners could not agree about what to do next together. As a result, the parish was closed at the end of 2019. The parishioners then attended one or another of the parishes in Ottawa. A significant number of the original parishioners came to an agreement with Archbishop Irénée (Rochon) of the Archdiocese of Canada, The Orthodox Church in America. They became members of the Cathedral Parish of the Annunciation-Saint Nicholas in Ottawa, and they began to be served there by Father Stelian Liabotis at a Slavonic Divine Liturgy early of a Sunday morning, before the main Divine Liturgy of the day.